my mind wasn't blown by the premiere, but the season's only just begun. Bring on the drama!" With the Humphrey clan moving into the world of the Upper East Side, New York Magazine examined the altercation that occurred between Dan and Vanessa. "When Vanessa confronts Dan at the polo match, he presents a list of totally valid and sympathetic reasons he's not the same old Dan, which includes an illness in the family and major life changes, and brings up the very valid and obvious point that Vanessa is a shrew with class issues." The Los Angeles Times''' however, was unsupportive of their move, stating "Their arty loft and bohemian existence was part of their charm," and sympathized with Vanessa's perception of their move, "I still felt just as Vanessa had when she saw Dan climbing into that limo—bittersweet and somewhat betrayed." Film School Rejects considered Dan’s speech to Vanessa as the high point of the episode.Film School Rejects called Blair and Chuck’s game "predictable, with the whole set up screaming, well, set up." The Los Angeles Times compared it to Samantha and Smith's courtship in Sex and the City and looked forward to the progression of their relationship. Serena's storyline was heavily panned with Graham calling it a "side plot" but found Serena fleeing from Carter interesting. "Serena’s wild child summer didn’t have the meat to hold up the bulk of the episode, which the writers attempted to have it do." In contrast, Jacob from Television Without Pity'' praised Serena for using Gossip Girl's blog for her personal ends and her motive for using it. "She's used GG and the tabs against Bart, she's used it against Rufus and Lily, she's even used it against Blair; she's been victimized by it more than any of them [...] And then Graduation, when she called GG's bluff sixteen times in an episode, bringing the world crashing down around her. So maybe it's just the wording, coincidentally: Maybe this is the strongest, smartest choice Serena could have made, and the lies are just about protecting Dan and Lily from how far she's willing to go." References Gossip Girl (season 3) episodes 2009 American television episodes